Variations on La Folia for two violins

Composers throughout the past four centuries—from Lully to Rachmaninoff—have been inspired by the predictable harmonic formula known as “la folia.” Folia apparently stems from a Portugese peasant dance. This dance was a festive, joyful group song involving drums and tambourine. The term itself may derive from folle (crazy), although numerous different etymologies have been proposed. Already in the early 16th century many of the characteristics familiar from later folia were set: it featured a repeating, ground-bass chord progression above which virtuosi of the day would improvise or ornament an existing melodic line. It proved most popular in Italy during the 1600s, but already by mid-century it had migrated to France (witness examples by Lully and Marais) as well as Germany. Perhaps the best known instance is the final work in Arcangelo Corelli’s Opus 5 sonatas (1700). Like Corelli’s Folia variations, Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) opted to conclude his seminal publication—the twelve sonatas Opus 1 (1705)—with a D-minor folia.

(c) Jason Stell